Help Ars Technica raise money for students with DonorsChoose.org

Science, math, and reading education in much of the US face daunting challenges. Teachers in public schools sometimes have to make do with very inadequate funding and often end up paying for supplies out of their own pockets. One thing that we here at Ars Technica are passionately committed to is education, and where better to start helping out than with the children who will lead our country into the next generation of technology evolution.

DonorsChoose.org began as a small, geographically-limited nonprofit organization that encourages individual teachers to submit proposals for specific projects that are direly needed in their classrooms. Last year, a substantial donation from Silicon Valley execs allowed the program to expand nationwide and offer up its aid to every school across the country. Since its launch, DonorsChoose.org has raised $24 million, which has helped 1.4 million students in every state.

As a part of its ongoing mission to help out students, DonorsChoose.org has launched a program today that lasts through the month of October, called Blogger's Challenge, where the top blogs and their audiences can "compete" against each other. Currently in the Tech Bloggers category are All Things D, MacLife, Engadget, TechCrunch, and Fred Wilson (a venture capitalist).

We think we can beat those guys. To that end, we've gone through many of the proposals and selected over 40 programs for our "Giving Page." Most of these proposals focus on helping teachers get technology into their classrooms, help teach students about science and math, or encourage reading.

Do you want to make a difference in these students' lives? The whole concept of DonorsChoose.org is that you, the donor, can choose exactly which proposal you'd like to help fund. Find a local school or a cause you support and give as little or as much as you can afford or feel is appropriate. Every little bit counts, and it will add up fast.

We have some of the most generous, dedicated, and philanthropic users of any site out there—as evidenced by readers of our gaming journal, Opposable Thumbs giving well over $10,000 to the Child's Play charity this past January. We're confident that we can take a commanding lead in the Blogger's Challenge this year and raise a lot of money for students in need.